Pompeii: The Exhibition, the world-renowned traveling showcase, offers guests a rare opportunity to step back nearly 2,000 years and experience life in Pompeii just hours before its sudden destruction. Open until April 2026, the exhibition features more than 150 original artifacts, including new additions and immersive experiences that expand on its previous Phoenix appearance in 2018.
Staged in 79 A.D., Pompeii: The Exhibition places visitors inside a thriving Roman port city moments before Mount Vesuvius erupted, forever freezing daily life in ash and debris. Through a blend of priceless artifacts and storytelling, the exhibition captures the tension, beauty, and humanity of a city that was simultaneously destroyed and preserved for centuries.
“The story of Pompeii’s destruction and preservation is well-known around the world for providing a perfect encapsulation of life during the Roman era,” said Tammy Stewart, Interim Hazel A. Hare President & CEO of Arizona Science Center. “It is a remarkable story that exists as an ancient legend and an archaeological treasure, providing a one-of-a-kind snapshot of ancient history that we rarely ever see.”
On August 24, 79 A.D., Pompeii was a bustling city of the Roman Empire when Mount Vesuvius erupted without warning. While the catastrophe claimed thousands of lives and buried the city beneath volcanic ash, it also preserved Pompeii in extraordinary detail. When archaeologists rediscovered the city more than 1,700 years later, they uncovered an unparalleled record of ancient urban life. Roads, homes, artwork, public spaces, and everyday objects were found astonishingly intact, providing modern audiences with an intimate look at how Romans lived, worked, worshipped, and found entertainment.
Pompeii: The Exhibition tells this story through an impressive combination of artifacts and cutting-edge immersion technology. Guests will encounter gladiator armor and weapons, vibrant frescoes, statues, jewelry, medical instruments, and cooking ware, all on loan from the Naples National Archaeological Museum in Italy and the Archaeological Park of Pompeii. Among the most haunting and powerful elements of the exhibition are the full-body casts of victims who perished in the eruption, their final moments preserved in chilling detail.
A separate timed-entry ticket is required to experience the exhibition, with premium tickets, including an audio guide, priced at $20. General admission to the Science Center is also required, and advance reservations are recommended. For more: azscience.org.
